Mrs. Barker-Erwin is headed to Washington DC for the Bammys! She is a finalist for Elementary Teacher of the Year! Click here to learn more about this prestigious award!
Here are some interesting things I learned last night when I visited the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial for some night photos with the Harvest Moon:
There’s a persistent myth out there about what exactly is carved into Lincoln’s head at the Lincoln Memorial. It just looks like hair to me, but people were saying that a profile of General Robert E. Lee is carved into the back of Lincoln’s head (visible in the photo above). So did the sculptor really carve Robert E. Lee into the tufts of Lincoln’s hair? I doubt it. What do you see?
Here is Robert E. Lee:
and here is the hair...
Here is one fact that I learned about the monument that I thought was pretty interesting:
the 36 columns at the Lincoln Memorial are meant to represent the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death.
Here is something else people were talking about:
Abraham Lincoln was a supporter of the deaf community, having signed the enabling legislation for Gallaudet University in DC. Supposedly there’s a reference to this at the Lincoln Memorial– Lincoln’s hands are signing the letters ‘A’ and ‘L’ as they rest on his chair, symbolizing his initials. So are Lincoln’s hands meant to signify his commitment to the deaf community?
Nope, the National Park Service says it’s all just a coincidence. On their Lincoln Memorial page the NPS writes, “The sculptor, Daniel Chester French, used molds cast in 1860 of Lincoln’s hands to guide his work. Given that they both were in a fist-like arrangement, he decided to relax one of them so the statue would not look as tense.” But it is coincidental that sculptor Daniel Chester French had a deaf son and was familiar with American Sign Language.
Here are some of my favorite photos from last night:
The view of the Potomac River from our balcony at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel:
The Washington Monument as the sun was setting:
The Harvest Moon over the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument:
The Vietnam War Memorial Wall: Interesting thing about my visit to the wall was that I had a chance to comfort a woman who lost her husband, brother, and father in that war. She was all alone and crying and my heart broke for her. I just walked over to her and put my arm around her. She told me all about her family and the memories the wall brought up for her. Such a special moment for me.
I researched some questions I had about the wall and found that as of 2013, there are 58,286 names listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. That is amazing and heartbreaking.
Here are some interesting things I learned last night when I visited the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial for some night photos with the Harvest Moon:
There’s a persistent myth out there about what exactly is carved into Lincoln’s head at the Lincoln Memorial. It just looks like hair to me, but people were saying that a profile of General Robert E. Lee is carved into the back of Lincoln’s head (visible in the photo above). So did the sculptor really carve Robert E. Lee into the tufts of Lincoln’s hair? I doubt it. What do you see?
Here is Robert E. Lee:
Here is one fact that I learned about the monument that I thought was pretty interesting:
the 36 columns at the Lincoln Memorial are meant to represent the 36 states in the Union at the time of Lincoln’s death.
Here is something else people were talking about:
Abraham Lincoln was a supporter of the deaf community, having signed the enabling legislation for Gallaudet University in DC. Supposedly there’s a reference to this at the Lincoln Memorial– Lincoln’s hands are signing the letters ‘A’ and ‘L’ as they rest on his chair, symbolizing his initials. So are Lincoln’s hands meant to signify his commitment to the deaf community?
Nope, the National Park Service says it’s all just a coincidence. On their Lincoln Memorial page the NPS writes, “The sculptor, Daniel Chester French, used molds cast in 1860 of Lincoln’s hands to guide his work. Given that they both were in a fist-like arrangement, he decided to relax one of them so the statue would not look as tense.” But it is coincidental that sculptor Daniel Chester French had a deaf son and was familiar with American Sign Language.
Here are some of my favorite photos from last night:
The view of the Potomac River from our balcony at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel:
The Washington Monument as the sun was setting:
The Harvest Moon over the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument:
The Vietnam War Memorial Wall: Interesting thing about my visit to the wall was that I had a chance to comfort a woman who lost her husband, brother, and father in that war. She was all alone and crying and my heart broke for her. I just walked over to her and put my arm around her. She told me all about her family and the memories the wall brought up for her. Such a special moment for me.
I researched some questions I had about the wall and found that as of 2013, there are 58,286 names listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. That is amazing and heartbreaking.